Important Upcoming Dates:
- Find the WSD’s updated school calendar here.
- February 3 at 6:15pm – Budget Presentation on CCVT
- February 22 through 26 – No School
Dear WSD Families,
It was wonderful to welcome our students back into the building. I was glad to see everyone and be together as a learning community again. Despite the weeks away from the building, our students and staff jumped right back into carefully following our health and safety procedures. Thanks to all the parents/caregivers who reviewed the mitigation strategies with your children before school started today, and staff for patiently reteaching any procedures that students had forgotten.
We want to continue with our in-person/hybrid learning model as much as possible and are grateful for your continued efforts to keep everyone safe.
Since December, there have been 77 positive cases of COVID in our learning community. There was one new case yesterday. There have been 14 line lists (people who were in the building while they were infectious). Five individuals remain in isolation as a result of a positive COVID test. Eight people are in quarantine, waiting for test results.
School Nurses Share their Vaccine Experience
WSD nurses and COVID-19 Co-Coordinators, Liz and Katharine, have heard that some community members have concerns about the safety of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. So, they decided to share their vaccination experience with our community to help get the word out that the COVID vaccine is safe and will save lives!
Nurse Liz understands why some people may hesitate to get the vaccine. She says she did a lot of research, consulted with health care professionals she trusts, and felt totally confident getting the vaccine. Liz said, “I did this for my community and myself.”
Both Liz and Katharine say they have had no symptoms after receiving the vaccine except for some soreness in their arms. Watch the video of them receiving their vaccines! Read more about vaccines and the rollout of vaccines in Vermont here.
Winooski Students React to Kamala Harris Inauguration
Winooski 6th graders were featured in a recent news report about the inauguration of Kamala Harris, the first Person of Color and Woman to be sworn in as Vice-President of the United States. Watch the video here.
If you missed it, please take five minutes to watch Amanda Gorman, America’s first youth poet laureate, recite her powerful poem about American promise, unity, resilience, and love at the inauguration.
Learn about the WSD Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
Please join board members Mike Decarreau and Alex Yin on Wednesday, February 3 at 6:15pm for a budget presentation. The link can be found at bit.ly/CCTVWinooski
Read more about early and absentee voting and registering to vote here. Interested in running for WSD school board? This Monday, January 25, at 5:00 pm is the deadline to submit consent forms to run for WSD School Board. Learn more here.
Basketball updates
Basketball teams begin meeting today. More information with a detailed schedule will follow. Due to the pandemic, there will be no spectators at Winooski basketball games this season. While we were actively looking for a way to broadcast these games to the community, an unexpected opportunity arose. Maura Sheridan is a substitute teacher in the middle school and, it turns out, a broadcaster! Maura usually works professionally as one of a growing number of women sports broadcasters. In fact, many might recognize her as the broadcaster for UVM Women’s Basketball. Maura is enthusiastically on board to mentor a few students as we look to broadcast varsity basketball games via Facebook Live and video record middle and high school games.
Student Meal Kits (Make it part of your routine!)
Even though the district has moved back to the hybrid/in-person learning model, student meal kits will still be available on Wednesdays!
Our staff invest lots of time, effort, and care into creating our student meal kits. They also plan the next week’s meals based on current participation. When there is a drop in numbers, fewer meals are prepared for the following week. Then, the next week if demand increases, there might not be enough meals available. Please plan to pick up meals every week.
- When: Distribution is Wednesdays from 9-10am
- Who: Any student (or their adult),
- What: Meals kits which include five days worth of breakfast and lunch for each student.
- Where: The meal pick-up sites remain the same: WSD, O’Brien Community Center, Elm Street Family Center
Free Ski Rentals for Winooski Kids
All Winooski community members are encouraged to take advantage of free ski rental at Gilbrook Natural Area in Winooski every Saturday from 10am to 1pm. Try to get there early! There are plenty of kids sizes and even some adult sizes, so parents or guardians can give it a try too. Here is a link with more info: http://winooskivt.gov/rec
Thank you,
Sean McMannon, Superintendent